I wrote a little article on 9th April that related to sports funding and its relationship with the nation’s health. If I’m honest, I really just pointed out that there were things that simply didn’t add up.  A new  post-Games review was published over this weekend, which for the first time sees the government considering and attacking the impact of funding.

The report indicates that as an inspiration the games was a huge success, and its narrative is one that wants to build out from this.  This strategy has to use a volunteering legacy to achieve this, and the report highlights we could miss the boat on this.  However it does not suggest how this should be done, other than to refer the matter to the Cabinet Office to make up its own mind.  Again this is another blank space in policy, and the narrative is still that grassroots sports should come at no cost. I believe it needs funding in order for people to understand it as part of their lives.

One good point in the report on funding was that it will probably see the National Lottery get more of a voice on its own funding. It highlights the fact that much of the National Lottery funding in the build-up to the games was out of its control.  I think this is a victory for people looking to attract sports funding, and will be beneficial for people who feel sports funding has too much red-tape.

Measuring success

A key measure was sports participation, and this has been amended from a previous measure of participation three times a week to a new measure of once a week.  I am dubious about this, as I think it’s a far too simple measure, and I believe a measure that shows progress from once a week participation to three times a week would be much more beneficial.

On the whole I welcome this report, and it has started to shape the way I think the Liberal Democrats should campaign on this.  I’d like to see us campaign for more detailed measures of success in sports funding, and ways to promote understanding of this in the media.  I’d also like to see more funding available for volunteering in grassroots sports, with perhaps benefits for the volunteers’ employability, such as gaining relevant qualifications that employers will value.

* Colin Gell is a Lib Dem member in Stockport, and blogs at www.trepidation.co.uk